PM ready to hand over pro-Ouattara fighters to ICC

Ivory Coast’s Prime Minister Guillaume Soro said Friday that his country was willing to hand over any fighter suspected of “blood crimes” to the International Criminal Court, regardless of which side they supported during the post-election crisis.

“We will let the International Criminal Court do its work at its own pace,” Ivory Coast Prime Minister Guillaume Soro said Friday in an interview with FRANCE 24 and RFI. The former rebel leader said Ivorian authorities would extradite any soldier found guilty of committing serious crimes during the country’s post-election violence, regardless of which side he fought on.

According to UN estimates, some 3,000 people were killed during four months of clashes that followed a disputed presidential election last November. The fighting ended with the ouster of former president Laurent Gbagbo, who was replaced by long-time rival Alassane Ouattara.